Welcome to Roadworthy! This is a chance to show off a Road Crew Judge and allow them to share their experience and wisdom. We provide these profiles to help provide insight into their personality and style, and maybe give up-and-coming Judges some advice on improving their game.
The Road Crew theme for 2018 is Strange New Worlds! Head out and find unique places to run games for willing participants. Do something that makes us take notice! Who knows, maybe we’ll put you up on our website. Jump on into the Road Crew program for your chance!
From the bottom of the continuous United States comes Judge Tahlia! Hailing from West Palm Beach, our newest Roadworthy recipient opens up with her games, her life, and all things DCC! We present Judge Tahlia Espenscheid!
Roadworthy: Judge Tahlia Espenscheid
What’s your name, where do you live (and game), and how would you describe yourself?
My name is Tahlia Espenscheid, hailing from West Palm Beach, Florida! I work at a comic book shop and am in college at Florida Atlantic University to be an English teacher! In my spare time I run Dungeon Crawl Classics and try to write up cool modules for people to play.
I have a reputation at my locals that I am an evil Judge! “Tahlia? She is so cruel” they all say, but I can’t help it when the dice say you die! Your character deaths are just sweet nourishment for my soul! Muhahahah! You can be the judge on my blog TavernFables.com.
How did you first discover DCC?
A few years ago I started playing Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, but when my friend Eric Kile ran a game of D&D Basic Edition, I fell in love with the 70s gaming era. He showed me DCC but I was mostly a purist and stuck to D&D without giving it much of a chance.
A few months ago I finally flipped through the pages and saw the gorgeous art of Doug Kovac, Brad McDevitt, Stefan Poag and many other talented artists throughout gaming history finding their home here. Once I finished drooling I found the rules seemed like they were built just for me and I fell head over heels. It was love at first sight. I immediately began collecting every single module, book, and all the memorabilia I could find, and since then I have been running Road Crew games like crazy!
As of “right now,” how many Road Crew games have you run in 2017? Or 2018?
As of now I have plowed through 9 Road Crew games and it has been a blast! The amazing “dead” stamp is almost within my grasp!
What’s your favorite Road Crew game experience so far?
Oh, there are just way too many to pick from.
Is it all the times the skulls in Sailors on the Starless Sea screamed “KILL THE CHAOS LORDS!” or when my players turned them into a GPS system and sold them for profit? How about when a wizard cast Choking Cloud only to roll a 1 and misfire, blowing up the stairs and fellow companions into the pit of People of the Pit? Or the time the same wizard spent so much spellburn he got a 32+ on Magic Shield in a level 1 module?
My favorite experiences are all when the zany and fun creative ideas come out of my player’s heads. They are our greatest tools in crafting a fun unique game!
Tell us where you run your Road Crew games.
I normally play at my local comic book shop Past Present Future Comics & Games in West Palm Beach, Florida! However I will be trying to spread the game to as many places as possible!
If you wish to contact me about any games I am running or request for me to come run games near you in Florida, email me at Judge.Tahlia@gmail.com!
What advice would you give to other Road Crew judges?
My advice is to loosen up and let the fun times come naturally! Do not open up the rule book unless you need a spell page or are 100% sure you know where something is. Go with the flow and allow the players to attempt anything they want to. The worst thing you can say is no! If they were meant to fail, then the universe will make it so on the die roll. So get out there and have fun!
